I WANT INUCSD students are admitted free to all home regular season volleyball matches. General admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for visiting students, seniors and UCSD Alumni Association members. Tickets are available at the main entrance to RIMAC Arena on the night of the match.

TWO OUT OF THREEUCSD went 2-1 last week on the road, losing at Cal State San Bernardino in four sets before sweeping Cal State Stanislaus and downing Chico State in four. Danielle Dahle (La Mesa/Grossmont HS) had a match-high 19 kills against the 20th-ranked Coyotes, but the Tritons managed just a .185 attack to CSUSB's .280. Setter Heidi Sierks had a career-best 46 assists. At Stanislaus, UCSD held the Warriors to just .075 hitting. Lizzy Andrews led the Tritons with 10 kills. Sara McCutchan was clutch in the big win at Chico, hitting .478 with a team-high 14 kills. Brittany Lombardi led all players with 25 digs.

WHERE DO WE STAND?At 3-2, the Tritons currently sit in a three-way tie for third place in the CCAA. Cal State San Bernardino (5-0) is first, followed by Sonoma State (3-1). UCSD is even with Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State. Cal State L.A., Humboldt State and San Francisco State are all tied for sixth at 2-2. The bottom four are Cal State East Bay (2-3), Cal Poly Pomona (1-3), Cal State Stanislaus (1-4) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (0-4).

ROAD WARRIORSThe Tritons are on the last leg of a seven-match road swing, the longest stretch the team will be away from La Jolla during the regular season. The marathon began at San Francisco State on Sept. 20 and the team's next match at RIMAC Arena will be against Cal State East Bay on Oct. 11. The Tritons have never played seven consecutive away CCAA matches.

DIG FOR A CUREOnce again throughout October, all California Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball teams will join together in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each team will designate one of its home contests as a Dig for a Cure match in which the squads will wear special warm-up shirts and use pink volleyballs. This Thursday's match at Cal Poly Pomona will be a Dig for a Cure event and the UCSD Tritons will host their own on Saturday, Oct. 26 against San Francisco State.

THE REIS CUPThis season, the UCSD volleyball program will introduce the Reis Cup in rememberance of former Triton Karen Reis, who was tragically killed in Coronado in 2012. Each year, the Reis Cup will be contested at the first home match after school is back in session. A trophy and a MVP award will be bestowed upon each winning team. The inaugural Reis Cup will take place on Friday, Oct. 11, when UCSD hosts Cal State East Bay at RIMAC Arena.

POLL POSITIONFor the second straight week, UCSD dropped in the AVCA national poll, sliding from No. 10 to No. 12. Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota Duluth and Tampa are the top three. Two other CCAA teams are in the AVCA's top 25, including Sonoma State at 13 (up from 16) and Cal State San Bernardino at 16 (up from 20).

TRITON NOTESUCSD's win at San Francisco State on Sept. 20 moved the team to 9-0, equaling the best start in program history ... Brittany Lombardi needs 243 digs to hit 1,000 for her career ... On Sept. 14 vs. Alaska-Anchorage, Danielle Dahle eclipsed 500 career kills ... Dahle needs just 24 more digs for 500 ... On Sept. 21 at Sonoma State, Sara McCutchan recorded her 500th career kill ... Makensie Bates made her Triton debut at Cal State Stanislaus on Sept. 27 ... UCSD has won 35 of 44 sets played so far this year ... Four Tritons have recorded a combined 17 double-doubles, including Danielle Dahle (6), Heidi Sierks (6), Sophie Rowe (3) and Amber Hawthorne (2) ... The first 500 UCSD students in attendance at the Oct. 11 match vs. Cal State East Bay will get a free Gameday t-shirt courtesy of Toyota.

NATIONAL LEADERSAs a team, UCSD ranks 11th in assists/set (13.27), 16th in kills/set (14.11) and 23rd in blocks/set (2.33). Individually, Kameron Cooper is 22nd in blocks/set (1.21) and Sara McCutchan is 47th in hitting percentage (.356).

HEAD COACH RICCI LUYTIESUCSD head coach Ricci Luyties is in his fourth season leading the Tritons. Over his first three campaigns in La Jolla, he registered a 61-26 overall record, good for a .701 win percentage. Entering 2013, Luyties has paced UCSD to a 47-19 (.712) mark in CCAA play. Prior to coming to UCSD, Luyties spent six seasons as the head coach at Southern Mississippi. A two-time All-American setter and Hall of Fame member at UCLA, he helped the Bruins win four consecutive national titles between 1981 and 1984. UCLA posted an amazing 126-7 record, which included a pair of undefeated seasons, during Luyties' career. A two-time NCAA Most Valuable Player, his No. 11 UCLA jersey was retired in 1996. A member of the U.S. National Team from 1981-88, Luyties won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. On the beach, Luyties competed regularly on the AVP Tour and FIVB World Tour for 12 years, partnering with the likes of Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson.

WHAT DO THE COACHES THINK?UCSD was picked to finish second in the 2013 CCAA standings by the league's coaches. Topping the poll was seven-time defending champion Cal State San Bernardino. Following the Tritons, in order, were Sonoma State, Cal State L.A., Chico State, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State East Bay, San Francisco State, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State Stanislaus and Humboldt State.

ABOUT THE BRONCOSCal Poly Pomona enters Thursday's match with a 3-9 overall record and is 10th in the CCAA with a 1-3 mark. Last week, the Broncos dropped a pair of league matches, falling to Cal State East Bay (1-3) and Cal State Monterey Bay (0-3) on the road. Jessica Doerner leads the team with 3.41 points/set and 3.00 kills/set. Erin Noriega is averaging 3.89 digs/set and Alex Hasen is blocking 1.22 balls/set.

ABOUT THE SERIESUCSD leads the all-time series against Cal Poly Pomona, 28-12. The Tritons have won the last 10 match-ups and haven't lost since Oct. 26, 2007.

ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKSHumboldt State, which hosts No. 16 Cal State San Bernardino Thursday, enters the week at 7-4 overall and 2-2 in the CCAA, good for a tie for sixth place. The Jacks split a pair of road matches last week, losing in four sets to Cal State Monterey Bay and defeating Cal State East Bay in four. Kaitlyn Dunaway (3.43 kills/set) and Ashley Owen (3.39 kills/set) lead the team in kills, while Dunaway is also the team's top digger, averaging 3.91/set. At the net, HSU is being out-blocked, 2.05/set to 1.37/set.

ABOUT THE SERIESUCSD has dominated the series against Humboldt State, winning all 17 matches dating back to the 1982 season. Last year, UCSD swept both contests.

GEAR HEREUCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.

THE BIG PICTUREWe want to reward you for posting your creative photos. Tweet or Instagram your pics from any UCSD Athletics event and include our #TritonsRising hashtag. At the end of every month, we'll pick our favorite photos and dole out some swag to the winners!

CRYSTAL BALLLooking ahead to next week, the Tritons are finally back at RIMAC Arena, hosting Cal State East Bay on Oct. 11 and Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 12. Starting that week, UCSD plays nine of its next 10 contests in La Jolla.